Annual; stems erect, ascending or rarely spreading, pubescent; petiolar gland saucer-shaped, sessile or nearly so; lfls 5-18 pairs, oblong, usually 1-2 cm, acute to obtuse, mucronate; fls 1-6 in short, axillary, bracteate racemes; pedicels 1-2 cm; pet subequal, 1-2 cm, 4 of them red-marked at base; stamens 10, very unequal; anthers linear, several times longer than their filaments, the two largest commonly 8 mm; pods linear-oblong, 3-6 cm, flat, straight; 2n=16. In a wide variety of ±open, often disturbed habitats; Mass. to s. Minn., s. to Fla. and Mex., commoner southward. July-Sept. (C. chamaecrista; Cassia f.)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
